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Pakistan's Musharraf plays down Al-Qaeda threat
by Carole Landry
28 minutes ago
PARIS (AFP) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf dismissed fears that his nuclear-armed country could slip into Al-Qaeda's hands, saying there was a "zero percent chance" of a takeover by Islamic extremists.
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Addressing a foreign policy institute in Paris ahead of talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy, Musharraf insisted it was impossible for militants to gain access to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
The only way for that to happen, he said, would be if Al-Qaeda or the Taliban "defeated the Pakistani army entirely" or if extremist religious groups won next month's elections.
"There is a zero percent chance of either one of them," Musharraf said. "They (the weapons) cannot fall into any wrong hands."
Months of turmoil culminating in the assassination last month of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto have crystallized fears in the West that Pakistan risks spinning out of control.
Musharraf said elections postponed after Bhutto's assassination and now scheduled for February 18 will be "free and fair" and added: "We will make sure they are peaceful."
Regularly accused of failing to keep a lid on extremists, Musharraf rejected suggestions Al-Qaeda could take advantage of the situation to seize control of the country.
"We don't think it is possible that this al-Qaeda or Taliban can take over in Pakistan," Musharraf told the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). "We cannot be defeated like this."
Making his first visit abroad since stepping down as army chief, Musharraf also said the army was disciplined and "totally executing what orders they get".
"We are succeeding reasonably" in securing the border with Afghanistan, he insisted, saying there had been a 42 percent reduction in movement across the border thanks to the creation of 1,000 checkpoints.
Pakistani militants on Tuesday killed five troops in an attack in South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan, where tribal leader Baitullah Mehsud has been holed up since Bhutto was killed on December 27.
The US Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan officials have said Bhutto's assassination was carried out by Al-Qaeda and Mehsud's allies.
But Musharraf said that Pakistan still needed the "understanding and support and backing" of the West as a frontline state in the "war on terror".
He was expected to reiterate that message in talks with Sarkozy, scheduled for 1530 GMT, whose country takes over the six-month presidency of the European Union in July.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner earlier this month became the first high-ranking foreign official to visit Pakistan after Bhutto's assassination, offering French and European help in investigating her killing.
Pakistan has said it was open to international help but has rejected calls for a United Nations inquiry into the assassination.
On the first leg of his European tour in Brussels, Musharraf won backing from NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who said the Pakistani leader was "part of the solution and certainly not part of the problem".
But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana warned European future cooperation would depend on the conduct of the elections.
From France Musharraf travels later Tuesday to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum and hold meetings with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
He wraps up his European tour in London on Saturday.
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Pakistan's Musharraf plays down Al-Qaeda threat - Yahoo! News
by Carole Landry
28 minutes ago
PARIS (AFP) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf dismissed fears that his nuclear-armed country could slip into Al-Qaeda's hands, saying there was a "zero percent chance" of a takeover by Islamic extremists.
ADVERTISEMENT
Addressing a foreign policy institute in Paris ahead of talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy, Musharraf insisted it was impossible for militants to gain access to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
The only way for that to happen, he said, would be if Al-Qaeda or the Taliban "defeated the Pakistani army entirely" or if extremist religious groups won next month's elections.
"There is a zero percent chance of either one of them," Musharraf said. "They (the weapons) cannot fall into any wrong hands."
Months of turmoil culminating in the assassination last month of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto have crystallized fears in the West that Pakistan risks spinning out of control.
Musharraf said elections postponed after Bhutto's assassination and now scheduled for February 18 will be "free and fair" and added: "We will make sure they are peaceful."
Regularly accused of failing to keep a lid on extremists, Musharraf rejected suggestions Al-Qaeda could take advantage of the situation to seize control of the country.
"We don't think it is possible that this al-Qaeda or Taliban can take over in Pakistan," Musharraf told the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). "We cannot be defeated like this."
Making his first visit abroad since stepping down as army chief, Musharraf also said the army was disciplined and "totally executing what orders they get".
"We are succeeding reasonably" in securing the border with Afghanistan, he insisted, saying there had been a 42 percent reduction in movement across the border thanks to the creation of 1,000 checkpoints.
Pakistani militants on Tuesday killed five troops in an attack in South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan, where tribal leader Baitullah Mehsud has been holed up since Bhutto was killed on December 27.
The US Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan officials have said Bhutto's assassination was carried out by Al-Qaeda and Mehsud's allies.
But Musharraf said that Pakistan still needed the "understanding and support and backing" of the West as a frontline state in the "war on terror".
He was expected to reiterate that message in talks with Sarkozy, scheduled for 1530 GMT, whose country takes over the six-month presidency of the European Union in July.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner earlier this month became the first high-ranking foreign official to visit Pakistan after Bhutto's assassination, offering French and European help in investigating her killing.
Pakistan has said it was open to international help but has rejected calls for a United Nations inquiry into the assassination.
On the first leg of his European tour in Brussels, Musharraf won backing from NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who said the Pakistani leader was "part of the solution and certainly not part of the problem".
But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana warned European future cooperation would depend on the conduct of the elections.
From France Musharraf travels later Tuesday to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum and hold meetings with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
He wraps up his European tour in London on Saturday.
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Pakistan's Musharraf plays down Al-Qaeda threat - Yahoo! News
